Tesco electrifies deliveries from DCs to city centre stores

Tesco says it is the first retailer to launch a zero-emission electric lorry to make deliveries from its distribution centres to stores in city centres.

The first of these vehicles, made by Renault Trucks, is now delivering to more than 400 stores in Greater London, with further electric lorries entering service in the coming months.

The lorry has a range of up to 130 miles and is able to carry the same payload as the diesel truck it replaces.

It is expected to replace around 30,000 miles per year of diesel fuelled road miles with clean green energy, removing 23 tonnes of CO2e per year. To power it, Tesco has installed electric charge points at its Dagenham distribution centre.

The Renault Trucks D Wide E-Tech vehicle has multi temperature zones, allowing the truck to move stock that has different temperature needs.

Tesco is also working with Volta Trucks on a prototype full electric lorry.

The Volta Zero was specifically designed to help tackle the problem of emissions in urban areas as well as improving road safety as a result of its purpose built, ground up design.

Jason Tarry, Tesco UK and ROI CEO, says: “We all want to see improved air quality and less pollution in our towns and cities, and electric vehicles will play a crucial role in achieving this.”

“The Tesco distribution network is one of the largest in the UK and provides us with a great opportunity to roll-out new technologies like this industry leading E Tech electric truck from Renault Trucks.”

“Together with our switch to electric home delivery vans and rolling out electric vehicle charging points for our customers, we’re really excited about the improvements we’re making across our business, and our transition to electric vehicles.”

Source: RTIH